A Heart That Wants to Protect 2
"Haa… haa…"
The heat rising from deep inside my body showed no signs of fading. My head felt foggy, like I had a brutal flu. My vision was even blurrier than when I'd taken off my glasses. Even gathering every ounce of strength in my body, I couldn't muster the energy to twitch a finger. My consciousness, adrift in the steam, floated away from my body, bobbing aimlessly on the sea.
"Hngh…"
This must be the drug the futanari uses every night… an aphrodisiac… No wonder there's never any sign of resistance in the rooms.
Having experienced it myself, I could feel Players 4 and 3's helplessness down to my bones. My body, flooded with the drug's effects, was even frailer than Yumirae, who lay wasting away in her hospital bed.
"At least it wasn't Hanna who was the mafia… Sometimes things do go my way in this life."
The fact that Hanna, whom I'd vowed to protect, wasn't the mafia brought me some comfort. Surviving and succeeding in a place like this almost made me chuckle. I resisted the drug's effects while lying in this cozy bed, far better than my rundown studio apartment.
— How much time had passed? The endless drug haze faded like mist at dawn.
"Hoo…"
The door reserved for the intruder's visit never opened. Regaining my senses, I rose from the bed. It wasn't like recovering from a cold with medicine—this was hardcore rapist-grade stuff, leaving me far from refreshed. As I wiped away the cold sweat with a towel…
Click. The door's lock disengaged.
—"We welcome you on the promised Day 5, daytime. Who would've thought you'd make it like this."
Instead of the lecherous nighttime visitor, a bright morning voice greeted me. The host's tone, watching from outside the game arena, brimmed with amusement. The survivors emerged from their rooms one by one.
"Mina unnie…?"
Kim Hanna stared at me, perfectly fine, with wide eyes. And
"No way… There was another drug besides the investigation pill…?"
Player 1, who had despaired after swallowing the pill and sleeping through everything, revealed herself.
"Judging by your reaction, the sleeping pill I sent as a gift worked well. The futanari who should've come to my room slept soundly without knowing it was night."
When Player 1 had sent the heart-marked aphrodisiac, I'd gifted back the pill labeled zzz. A pill no participant in this game could mistake.
"You hid the sleeping pill from the start… saved me on purpose, knowing I was the futanari, just to use me…?!"
She stared at me in horror—the same me who'd gotten her out during Player 6's detection on Day 2.
"Did you know from the beginning, Mina unnie? Is that why you sided with the mafia…?"
"It was the safest way to thin out the most players."
Daytime executions via vote, nighttime moves by the futanari. Even a mafia with a man's cock needed votes. Of course, I had limits on reducing players through voting alone. So I'd approached Player 1 amicably. So I could win the game in the end.
—"The cards are all revealed anyway, so let's just vote already. Feels like déjà vu from yesterday…"
The host aimed to wrap up the game now that my sleeping pill had eliminated the last variable.
…… Even before the vote ended, the game's executors were already on standby.
"Kuh…"
Player 1, who had raped me on Day 4 and Hanna on Day 5 to claim victory, swallowed her rage. But she couldn't defy the executors who'd crushed the participants with brute force. She gave up resisting and took her seat.
"You get it without me saying, right?"
"Of course, Mina unnie!"
Hanna felt no pity even for this vicious rapist. She nodded eagerly when I flashed a grin.
Beep. Beep. Beep. The final buttons passed.
> [Most Votes - Player 1]
> [Player 1 Execution]
The cold numbers stood firm before the result. As the host had decided, Player 1's execution proceeded immediately.
"Let me go!! You can't just turn me into this body and do this on your own!!"
Player 1 screamed as she was dragged away, but the executors bound the futanari to the execution chair without a glance.
Vrrr— The massive machine emerged once more.
"Ngh, nghh! Grk…!?!"
A fierce beam fired straight at her crotch, covered by leggings. The mafia writhed and groaned under the assault, burning like a pinpoint inferno.
"Ugh… No matter how many times I see it, I can't get used to it."
"Yeah."
The leggings hid her manhood, but the humiliating spectacle brought more disgust than satisfaction.
"Ooh… ugh…"
She slumped forward when the laser cut off.
—"That was entertaining, so here's a little service."
Riiip— As the host finished speaking, the executor tore off Player 1's leggings while she lay unconscious.
Drip… driiiip… A massive load of semen and a monstrous cock emerged from between Player 1's legs. Steamy vapor and the stench of cum wafted from the ripped leggings.
"Th-that's the futanari's… Ugh, reality's way grosser than fiction."
"Like some megacorp's twisted hobby."
We survivors gazed at the wolf hidden among the sheep to the bitter end. Even seeing this body that fused man and woman, it was impossible to comprehend.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Amid the chaos, applause erupted from behind.
"First, congratulations to the survivors who made it to the end."
The host appeared with his alleyway subordinates.
"The plan failed spectacularly, but this game wasn't half bad."
Like last time, he separated regret from satisfaction. Asmo-Zeus—I couldn't even guess what they wanted with all this, nor did I care to know.
"Here's the promised 100 million won. Split it in half—five million each. Share nicely among yourselves."
"Thank you…"
"They actually kept their word…"
The man had his subordinate hand over bags containing half the prize to me and Hanna. It proved they weren't third-rate thugs but a megacorp that ruled the world.
Vrrr—
"The exit's that way. Don't get lost like an idiot and crawl back into the sewer."
He pointed to an exit linking to one of the world's countless alleys.
No one would believe a megacorp turns people into futanari for games anyway.
To them, we were sewer rats whose mouths they'd never need to seal. With no phones, we had no proof of the game.
"I'm so glad we survived to the end, Mina unnie!"
"Sorry for scaring you midway, Hanna."
"No way, I only survived thanks to you, Mina unnie."
"Yeah."
At the exit, we exchanged smiles and reflections.
"Come on, let's get out!"
Hanna's debt was 15 million won—the bag she carried could wipe it clean. She hurried ahead, waving as she vanished from the game arena.
To fill a bag like this with living expenses and hospital bills… how many years at the company?
I clutched my bag of riches but couldn't take a single step.
"I can't go back yet."
I still had my sick Yumirae. I couldn't slip back to the past like some carefree time traveler.
"Why…?"
Hanna, expecting us to leave together, stared at me choosing to stay in hell.
Thud. The passage sealed, respecting our divergent choices.
"This is surprising—choosing to stay voluntarily."
"You know as the host. This won't cover my sister's medical bills."
"Just ditch the sister wasting her life in a hospital bed. You're a rare breed these days."
The host eyed me, opting to remain in the game arena, with satisfaction.
"So why the detour midway? You could've talked your way to ending it before Day 5."
The host, who'd watched the game, questioned why I'd wasted a day swallowing aphrodisiac and using a sleeping pill.
Catch the futanari on Day 4. Or maybe win one-on-one vote during the day with the sleeping pill. Just possibilities, but yeah.
Other paths were clearly more efficient.
…My leg broke, so I was hospitalized for years. Couldn't even finish high school properly. Maybe I'd glimpsed my sister Yumirae in Hanna. But my desire to save her was real. Seeing Hanna leave with her bag stirred a joy I'd long forgotten.
"You said we'd go to Day 5. You gave me the sleeping pill. So I figured using all that would let me join the next game."
I'd only tasted despair outside. Here, for the first time, I glimpsed hope. Better to bet my worthless life on something than swallow the suffocating helplessness with every breath. This game arena was kinder.
"Perfect mindset! Then look forward to the next game. Even if you drop out, we'll faithfully send this prize to your sister. Here's your ticket, as requested."
Satisfied, the man pulled another sleeping pill from his pocket. I stared at the pill in my hand.
Like in the alley, when I opened my eyes again, I'd be trapped in the game arena with others. Victory was uncertain.
Just win once more…
With half the medical bills secured, I swallowed the entry ticket in my hand. The pull into deep sleep was better than the brutal aphrodisiac shivers.
*
"Who knew she'd volunteer."
"What'd I tell you, Snatcher? Yumina's nothing like the failures so far."
"Even so, reaching awakening's a crapshoot. What if it's the same result? Her mommy's maternal love cheat failed too."
"I've got a good feeling. A feeling."
The overseers linked to the game admired the winner collapsed on the bed. The experiment failed again, but securing seeds for the next one bred expectations.
"We'll start once prep's ready, so hurry the setup, Snatcher."
"Why the rush? Pressure from above?"
"Nah, this subject needs time. Obvious what happens if her frail sister dies before we start."
Reactions born from the gap between protecting what's precious and selfish desire—that was the experiment's core.
"Got it… Mods alone are tight on time, so fill the extras with whoever. You handle the full report and fallout."
"Fine, I'll take the heat. Get ready fast before your heart gives out."
"Roger."
They divided roles in the darkness to chase unfulfilled wishes.
*
Skulking in the shadows wasn't just the megacorp dreaming of ruling all.
"Is this the place where people vanish? Some shady game with big money…"
"Spot onppi! Gotta be Asmo-Zeusppi!"
The girl and mysterious creature opposing the city's darkness wandered the alleys with eyes wide open at night.
"No solid traces as expected. Tracking the missing will be tough."
"Can't give upppi! Asmo-Zeus wants to rule this planetppi!"
"I won't let the villains rule."
The magical girl, garbed vibrantly to battle great evil, burned with justice in the eerie alley.
"But if it's always like this, it's meaningless… Just more sacrifices for my comrades."
Flash—
"Whatcha thinkingppi?!"
The magical girl shed her glowing guise in the trace-wiped streets, reverting to an ordinary girl.
"What Asmo-Zeus is after. I'll find out myself."
Hiding the power of the stars, the magical girl stepped into the game arena as a civilian.